Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, center, holds hands with her husband, Mark Kelly, while exiting Town Hall at Fairfield Hills Campus in Newtown, Conn. after meeting with Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra and other officials on Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. At far left is Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman; behind Giffords to the left is U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Giffords also met with families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that left 26 people dead. (AP Photo/The News-Times, Jason Rearick)

State Rep. DebraLee Hovey, R-112, who last week on her Facebook page called on shooting victim Gabrielle Giffords to "stay out of my towns," issued an apology Monday.

"The remarks I made regarding Congresswoman Gifford's visit were insensitive and if I offended anyone I truly apologize," Hovey said in a statement issued by her office, referring to Giffords' visit on Friday to Newtown.

Giffords, a former congresswoman from Arizona, was critically injured when a gunman opened fire two years ago at one of her constituent meet-and-greets in Tuscon, killing six people and wounding 12 others.

She and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, visited Newtown where they met privately with several government officials before talking with some of the families of the 20 children and six teachers killed in a shooting spree by lone gunman, Adam Lanza, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School last month.

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The couple has been lobbying for stricter gun laws and improved access to mental health treatment in reaction to the Tuscon attack and now the Newtown massacre, which is the worst elementary school slaying in the country.

Hovey represents the towns of Newtown and Monroe.

The state representative further commented on Friday that the visit by Giffords was political as the officials in attendance were U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, both Democrats. Also at the meeting however, was Newtown's First Selectwoman Patricia Llodra, who is a Republican.

"It was political. The Lt. Gov. was there, Blumenthal was there and ALL political types know it is courteous to let sitting Reps know when another political is in their district so ... there was pure political motives," she wrote on Facebook.

Both meetings were closed to the press.

Hovey's office said the state representative was in Florida to attend a board meeting of Women in Government, a national group, and her comments were intended to shield the families of the victims.

"My comments were meant to be protective of the privacy of the families and our community as we work to move on, and were in no way intended as an insult to Congresswoman Giffords personally. Our community has struggled greatly through this tragedy, and we are all very sensitive to the potential for this event to be exploited for political purposes. This is what I wish to avoid," Hovey said in her statement.

Hovey's remarks set off a slew of reaction on social media, both critical of her and in her defense.

State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, D-New Haven, said it would probably have been better if Hovey had contacted sponsors of the meeting before she reacted on Facebook.

"Caution is always better in the end," Holder-Winfield said.

He said while he represents New Haven and parts of Hamden, he doesn't feel he "owns those areas" in the sense of telling people to stay out of them. He had no opinion if the visit by Giffords and her husband was political.

"I don't think it matters. ... If it makes people feel better, so what?" Holder-Winfield said of their visit to the families of the victims.

Giffords, who suffered a brain injury from being shot and is partially blind with a paralyzed right arm, was in New York to meet with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been a national voice for tougher gun laws, before coming to Connecticut .

"It is never helpful to ascribe motives to people when they do something," Looney said of describing Giffords' meeting in Newtown as political.

Hovey said she, like many others, was "still working through my grief and trying to come to terms with what happened, how we as a community and a state move forward and how we can prevent horrific events like this from occurring in the future," she said. "My deepest condolences continue to go out to the families, the community of Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown and Connecticut."

Hovey's spokeman, Jamison Bazinet, said she was not issuing any other statements and did not answer an email requesting comment on proposed gun control legislation that is bring contemplated in Connecticut, from making public a list of gun permit holders to disallowing felons from buying ammunition to stricter definitions of assault weapons and limits on high capacity magazines.

State Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, said Hovey's apology was "genuine and heartfelt. She cares deeply about her constituents and she is desperately trying to ensure they are not exploited during the aftermath of this tragedy."

Lemar however said the most important thing is that everyone address gun violence in Connecticut, whether that looks to prevent another Newtown massacre or the 17 deaths in New Haven in 2012.

"Every gun death in this state is a preventable tragedy and we should all be more concerned about each and every life that is lost across our state due to outdated and insufficient gun laws. A comprehensive reform of our gun laws is needed, and I hope we can all come together to enact strict laws to prevent as many senseless deaths as possible," said Lemar.